


Caireizhasan

by ExtraPenguin



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Astronomy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6293809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraPenguin/pseuds/ExtraPenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vedero studies the stars and makes a discovery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caireizhasan

**Author's Note:**

> Join us on the IRC channel: http://www.slashnet.org/webclient/thegoblinemperor

Mer Miris Niüma had been a second-rate philosopher, with only one book to his name. _On Existence_ had had the typical pretentious title, and consisted solely of questions, some easily answerable – _Are women as smart as men?_ – some inane – _Does anything really exist?_ – and some unanswerable – _What is it to be human?_

One such question had stuck with Vedero when she'd read it as a youth: _What are the stars made of?_

Growing up, Vedero accumulated a collection of such questions she wished to answer. She devoured any literature that may give insight on how to solve them, and resultingly acquired sub-questions and potential follow-up questions.

Four years ago, she'd read that different chemicals burned with different-colored flames. Two years ago, she'd read that prisms could be used to separate the colors of white light. One year ago, she'd connected those two facts with the theory that stars were merely heaps of burning coal, and designed an experimental apparatus.

Now, it was finished. She would point her telescope at a star, and the light would be focused into a prism, which would split the colors, which would then be projected onto a length of paper, held on a stand so as to make the results fully replicable. Vedero would then draw onto the paper any lines that were darker or brighter than their surroundings.

 

She carted her apparatus up to her observatory next to the chimney. She measured all distances between the parts carefully, then wrote them onto the back of the paper she'd use for recording the lines. She mounted the paper into its stand, then pointed her telescope at the only fitting star for such an occasion: Cstheio Caireizhasan, the lodestar at the axis of the sky.

The projection had two significant darker lines. Vedero penciled them in with glee. She removed the paper, wrote the name of the star, the date, and approximate time onto the back, then pondered her next observational target. She let her gaze circle the sky, and it fell on Csopiän, a visibly red star, named after the mythic Csopiän Athmaza, so devoted to knowing that she had been given the mazeise gift, the first of the elves to receive it. After her earthly demise, Cstheio had elevated her into the sky.

Vedero placed a new ream of paper onto the stand, then altered the declination and right ascension of her telescope until it pointed at Csopiän. She stepped back.

One line. Vedero brought out the paper for Cstheio for comparison, and yes, the one line produced by Csopiän was different to either of Cstheio's lines.

If her ears were higher than strictly proper, her smile were more a grin than a suggestion, or she were to have collapsed with the sweet laughter of success-

Well. She was alone on the rooftop.


End file.
